125 YEARS AGO: SEPT. 25, 1897
A Land Slide: About 2 o’clock p.m. last Sunday the people of Ashcroft noticed a great volume of dust rising from the river bank a mile below town on the opposite side of the river. A puff of dust would come from one point then from another a hundred rods away, and it was soon seen that an enormous mass of earth had sunk down many feet and acting as a wedge evidently had pushed the entire river bank for nearly half a mile into the stream. The area involved seems to be 150 acres or more and it is a curious and interesting sight to see this monstrous slide gradually pushing its way into the Thompson River and being gradually washed away by the powerful current. An Indian burying ground occupied one side of the moving ground and on Tuesday the friends got together and removed the bodies, taking them on to solid ground and again burying them.
Fatal Shooting: Jas. Hamilton, an old timer living on Slate creek, Nicola, was shot last Saturday evening by Mrs. T. Rabbit, of the same neighbourhood. As the report goes, Hamilton, who has been a little off mentally, visited the house of Mrs. Rabbit during the absence of her husband and forced his way to her room although warned away. The shooting resulted in the death of Hamilton the following morning.
Left In Disgust: On Wednesday a very nice Bible and lamp were found in the corner of the town hall fence, and several people who happened along all wondered how they got there. On investigation it was found that an impersonator of Diogenes had been in town, not as in days of yore to find an honest man, but hoping to find a united community of Christians in Ashcroft, and as a result deposited the articles in the fence corner and left in disgust by the first train.
100 YEARS AGO: SEPT. 23, 1922
Clinton Races: It is reported that the Clinton Race Committee cleared about $200 for the town at the annual races. This amount, we understand, will be devoted towards defraying expenses in connection with the building of the memorial hall.
Barkerville: The Labour Day picnic for the kiddies of Barkerville and district was held in town owing to the wet weather, but nevertheless everything went off in fine style. In the morning the children were all taken for a drive in cars, and on their return they sat down to heaps of eatables. During the afternoon sports of various kinds were indulged in, which young and old enjoyed. Perhaps the event which created the most excitement of all was the nail driving contest for the ladies.
75 YEARS AGO: SEPT. 25, 1947
Indian Summer Here: Indian summer is here and is welcome after the cool and frosty weather we had in Spences Bridge last week, too bad Jack Frost made his appearance so early, as the tomatoes and other garden vegetables out in the fields were at their prime. However, the damage was slight and we hope the nice weather will continue until all the harvesting is done.
Savona: Believe it or not, while fishing at Leighton Lake Saturday an 8 pound trout jumped into Charlie Wilson’s boat. His son Stanley was with him and they were both tickled.
Improvements To Cariboo Road: Under government contract, a road construction company has been engaged during the past few weeks straightening out the Cariboo road a few miles west of Lytton. Numerous sharp curves are being eliminated, the builders seeking the shortest distance between two given points. Curves in the road that were not only annoying but dangerous to the motorist are being eliminated by fills that cross deep gulches from bend to bend which will reduce the distance appreciably. During reclaiming work on the old Cariboo road in 1926, the builders in many places followed the old survey and contours of the early contractors. Modern machinery makes light work of road construction that was a major problem even twenty years ago.
50 YEARS AGO: SEPT. 21, 1972
Cache Creek: The Public Works building is taking shape at the Park. While the building will not be fully completed this year, the Public Works vehicles will be under cover during the winter and will be protected from vandalism that has cost the Village several hundreds of dollars over the past years. Plans are being dealt with for beautifying the Park next year. Provision is also being made for the inclusion of a swimming pool to be added to the facilities at some future date. Next year the park is to be cleared and levelled, and trees planted. Now that the mortgage on the Park has been paid, it is anticipated that the Park will receive more attention in future.
School Dist. 30 Enrolment: As of September 1972: Ashcroft Secondary, 351; Clinton Secondary, 153; Lytton Secondary, 176; Ashcroft Elementary, 470; Cache Creek Elementary, 374; Clinton Elementary, 318; Lytton Elementary, 338; Spences Bridge Elementary, 55; 70 Mile Elementary, 77; Big Bar Elementary, 16. Total: 2,328.
Ashcroft-Cache Creek Arena: As we who have been involved in building the arena since its inception are well aware the general public has no idea just how advanced or beautiful the interior of the arena is. This we hope to remedy in the very near future by holding an open house. Unfortunately there are still a few little jobs to be done before this can happen, the main task being in putting in the fire doors that lead out to the stairway. If you are willing to put in a few hours and know how to hang doors we would certainly appreciate some help. No — don’t assume that we will have fifty people offering because believe us when we say THIS JUST DOES NOT HAPPEN. Please contact Norm Vennard or Rick Gilmore or George Benna. Take note Ashcroft: all those volunteers are from Cache Creek. We sure could use some people from Ashcroft at these meetings.
Animal Matters: The combined SPCA arrangements for animal control with the Villages of Ashcroft, Lytton, Clinton, and Cache Creek are no doubt having effect by now. Animal owners of any animal are reminded that they are not to be allowed to roam the streets and that they are to be kept within the owner’s property. Horses, cows, and other livestock are not permitted within the Village. Owners of such livestock are therefore advised to make immediate arrangements for moving such animals to areas outside the Village.
Shell Garage At Lytton Burns: A fire of unknown origin destroyed the vacant Shell Garage building on Main Street, Lytton. The blaze was spotted by Mrs. Dorothy Horning about 2 a.m. on Thursday morning, Sept. 14. Mrs. Horning at once alerted Mrs. L. Simpson, and Miss Dallis Simpson rang the fire alarm, which was situated on the opposite corner from the blazing garage building. Mr. Pat Stewart narrowly missed being hit by a falling beam, when it fell and knocked one of the fire hoses out of his hand. Fortunately no other buildings suffered damage from the early morning blaze.
Do you want to read more from the archives? An expanded version is available on the website at https://www.ashcroftcachecreekjournal.com/.
editorial@accjournal.ca
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